National Archives to Award $2.4 Million For Historical Records Projects

From the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA):

The National Archives has approved $2,434,000 in awards for 30 historical records projects in 21 states, American Samoa, and the District of Columbia. The National Archives grants program is carried out with the advice and recommendations of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

A complete list of grants is available online.

In partnership with state historical records advisory boards, the National Archives will fund 15 states to carry out programs that assist smaller archives, provide workshops and educational tools, and provide statewide archival services. 

Two Major Initiative grants will go to: 

• Washington College in Maryland to work with the Chesapeake Heartland Digital Archive to document Black heritage on the Eastern Shore,
• Franco American Collections Consortium in Maine to document the French-Canadian and Acadian diaspora from 89 collections held at 13 repositories.

Seven grants will be awarded to Archives Collaboratives.

• Planning grants will go to:
  • the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee to partner on a Southern memory workers’ collaborative,
  • Dance/USA to develop archival resources for three dance companies which represent traditional, cultural, and contemporary dance forms.
• Implementation grants will go to:
  • the New York Folklore Society and partners across the state
  • the Association of Moving Image Archivists to work with four cultural organizations on digital readiness;
  • the Blacklidge Community Collective in Tucson, Arizona;
  • Urban Archives to support a location-based digital platform and collection management system;
  • Efforts of Grace, Inc. to work with the Alliance for Cultural Equity and over a dozen small museums and community-based archives in New Orleans.

Six projects will receive support from our Publishing Historical Records program to document major historical figures and important eras and social movements:

• the Correspondence of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore,
• the Civil War Governors of Kentucky Digital Documentary Edition,
• a digital edition of Los Angeles Issei Poetry,
• the “Willie Jumper Stories” as part of the Digital Archive for Indigenous Language Persistence,
• Slavery Law & Power: Debating Justice & Democracy in Early America and the British Empire,
• Kinship and Longing: Keywords for Black Louisiana, a digital edition documenting 18th century French and Spanish Louisiana.

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission includes representatives from all three branches of the Federal government as well as the leading archival and historical professional associations. Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan is the Chair, and Christopher Eck is the Executive Director. Since it was established in 1934 along with the National Archives, the NHPRC has awarded 5,300 grants for preserving, publishing, and providing access to the nation’s historical documents. 

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Associations and Organizations, Awards, Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Funding, Management and Leadership, News, Open Access, Publishing